Terms & Conditions

Mother Nature Network (MNN.com and TreeHugger.com) offers a combination of unconventional and lively original content along with environmental news from around the web. Our mission is to provide the most comprehensive and compelling online environmental news and information in a voice that is engaging and easily understood by a mainstream audience. MNN offers a fresh take on eco news with insightful commentary and smart, spirited discussion in comments and our social networks. From tips on a greener lifestyle to broader issues that affect our global future, MNN is a one-stop source for you and your family.

These Terms of Use ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and MNN.com and TreeHugger.com (our "Websites") and govern your use of our Websites either as a visitor or as a registered user. Use of and access to our Websites is subject to your compliance with these Terms, so please read them carefully before using our Websites. MNN.com and TreeHugger.com reserve the right to limit or terminate your access to our Websites or terminate or suspend your registration for failure to comply with the terms and policies posted on our Websites, or for any reason at any time.

BY ACCESSING AND USING OUR WEBSITES IN ANY WAY, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, DO NOT USE OUR WEBSITES IN ANY MANNER.

MODIFICATIONS TO THE TERMS OF USE

MNN.com and TreeHugger.com may change, modify, update, add, or remove portions of these Terms at any time. Please check these Terms periodically for changes. Your continued use of our Websites following the posting of any changes will signify your acceptance of those changes.

REGISTRATION

To use certain parts of our Websites (e.g., posting comments), you will be asked to provide certain information about yourself, including your first name, email address, password, city and state or Zip code.

PRIVACY POLICY

MNN.com and TreeHugger.com respect your desire for privacy and take care to protect personal information that you provide to us. MNN.com's and TreeHugger.com's privacy policy can be found at http://www.mnn.com/privacy. By using our Websites, you are consenting to the terms of our privacy policy.

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

MNN.com has created community areas and group discussions so you can share your experiences, ask and/or answer questions of other users, and share reviews of environmental products and more. Our community includes people from a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds. We appreciate that MNN.com's community reflects the diversity of its users and is an interesting place to share, learn and interact. In keeping with this spirit of community, we have a core set of principles and guidelines that must be followed by all members and users.

Mother Nature Network is committed to open opinions but we expect our readers to follow a few simple "Rules of the Planet." Do not post any material that is defamatory, infringing, obscene, abusive, or otherwise unlawful.

When posting a comment we ask that you be respectful of other posters. Name calling and abusive, hateful speech is a violation of our Terms and Conditions.

Inappropriate material may be removed or reclassified at any time, for any reason, without prior notice or explanation. Readers who engage in a pattern of misconduct or commit an egregious violation of these guidelines may face sanctions including, but not limited to, suspension of their posting privileges and erasure of their entire posting history. While we’re committed to respecting your privacy, we reserve the right to report unlawful behavior and vandalism of our Web site to your Internet service provider or, in extreme cases, local law enforcement.

Our editor has sole discretion to apply any of these sanctions at any time and without prior notice. Concerns regarding the enforcement of these rules should be directed to the comments editor contact at mnn.com.

USING OUR WEBSITES

MNN.com and TreeHugger.com provide you with access to a great variety of resources. The materials, information, and links to third party sites, provided on our Websites, including but not limited to information, documents, images, articles, advice, time-saving tips and checklists, easy-to-use tools, products, software, and services, if applicable ("Materials"), are provided either by MNN.com, TreeHugger.com, or by others and may be copyrighted and/or protected by other intellectual property rights. MNN.com and TreeHugger.com hereby grant you limited permission to use the Materials provided by MNN.com and TreeHugger.com subject to these Terms, as long as the use of such Materials is solely for your own informational use. Unless stated within the Materials, none of the Materials may be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other means, without the prior express written permission of MNN.com or TreeHugger.com and/or the appropriate owner. Also, you may not "mirror" any Materials contained on our Website or any other server without MNN.com's and TreeHugger.com's prior written consent.

NO UNLAWFUL OR PROHIBITED USE

While using our Websites, you may not

restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying our Websites;

post or transmit any unlawful, fraudulent, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, profane, threatening, abusive, hateful, offensive, or otherwise objectionable information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, constitute unauthorized practice of a professional service, or otherwise violate any local, state, national, or foreign law, including without limitation U.S. export control laws and regulations;

post or transmit any advertisements, solicitations, chain letters, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities or schemes, or other unsolicited commercial communication (except as otherwise expressly permitted by MNN.com or TreeHugger.com), or engage in spamming, phishing, or flooding;

use any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access our Websites or services for any purpose without our express written permission; however, this provision shall not apply to the indexing or updating of search engines;

post or transmit any information or software that contains a virus, Trojan horse, worm, or other harmful component;

post, publish, transmit, reproduce, distribute, or in any way exploit any information, software, or other material obtained through our Websites for commercial purposes (other than as expressly permitted by the provider of such information, software, or other material);

upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, or distribute in any way information, software, or other material obtained through our Websites which is protected by copyright or other proprietary right, or derivative works with respect thereto, without obtaining permission of the copyright owner or right holder; or

upload, post, publish, reproduce, transmit, or distribute in any way any component of our Websites or derivative works with respect thereto without our prior written consent, as our Websites are protected under U.S. copyright laws.

LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES; ADVERTISERS; THIRD PARTY SERVICES

In attempting to provide you with comprehensive and useful resources, our Websites may contain links to third-party websites which are not under the control of MNN.com or TreeHugger.com. MNN.com and TreeHugger.com are not responsible for the content of or products provided by any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such sites. MNN.com and TreeHugger.com are providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply that MNN.com or TreeHugger.com endorses, guarantees, or accepts any responsibility for the content or products on such a third-party site.

In addition, MNN.com and TreeHugger.com will accept advertising on our Websites. Any dealings that you have with advertisers found on MNN.com or TreeHugger.com are between you and the advertiser and you acknowledge and agree that we are not liable for any loss or claim you may have against an advertiser.

In connection with your use of our Websites, you may be made aware of services, products, offers, and promotions provided by third parties, and not by MNN.com or TreeHugger.com. If you decide to use third-party services or products, you are responsible for reviewing and understanding the terms and conditions governing any third-party services or products. You agree that the third party, and not MNN.com or TreeHugger.com, is responsible for the performance of the third-party services or products.

CHANGES TO OUR WEBSITES

In an effort to continually improve our Websites and its usefulness to you, we may add additional services or make changes to existing services. In the event that MNN.com or TreeHugger.com makes such changes, these Terms shall apply to the new services and to any changes to existing services.

POSTING OF USER CONTENT

Certain areas of our Websites may allow you to post content including your experiences, information, messages, or other material ("Your Content"). For instance, you may use our commenting, blogs, or other community areas to post Your Content. Please be aware that these areas are public and not confidential. You may only post Your Content to public areas and where you have permission to post. You may not post any content that violates these Terms of Use or any third party rights.

MNN.com and TreeHugger.com do not claim ownership of any of Your Content that you may post. However, by posting Your Content to public areas on MNN.com and TreeHugger.com, you grant MNN.com and TreeHugger.com, its affiliates, partners, and distributors the right to use, copy, display, perform, distribute, adapt, create derivative works, and promote Your Content in any medium and any manner whatsoever, and to use your display name to attribute your postings to you. In addition to Your Content, you may submit feedback to us. We encourage you to provide us feedback. You agree that we may use in any manner and without limitation all comments, suggestions, complaints, and other feedback you provide relating to Our Websites, and that MNN.com and TreeHugger.com will own all intellectual property that we create based upon or incorporating your feedback.

NO DUTY TO MONITOR

You agree that we are not liable for content that is provided by others. While some community areas are monitored for relevance, we have no obligation to prescreen content that may be posted in such areas and are not responsible for such postings. While we have no duty to prescreen content, we have the right to refuse to post or to edit submitted content. We reserve the right to remove content for any reason, but we are not responsible for any failure or delay in removing such material.

PROCEDURE FOR MAKING CLAIMS OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

At MNN.com and TreeHugger.com, we respect the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your copyrighted work has been copied and is accessible on MNN.com or TreeHugger.com in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact us to report possible copyright infringement by writing contactus@mnn.com.
When contacting us, please provide MNN.com and TreeHugger.com's copyright agent the following information:

A full description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;

An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;

A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site; Your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;

A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and

A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or are authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf.

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and MNN.com or TreeHugger.com regarding this subject matter, and they govern your use of our Websites. The failure of MNN.com or TreeHugger.com to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of these Terms remain in full force and effect. Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of MNN.com or TreeHugger.com or these Terms must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.